The Brother Pirates
by Lacey Barbed Wire
Summary: Mario is dead, killed in battle with Akoji and Kizaru. But all is not lost, for legend has it that Gold Roger kept a powerful artifact capable of bringing the dead back to life with the rest of his treasure. And so Luigi, Daisy, and DK set off to find this artifact and bring Mario back! Part of the BarbedWire Universe.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Luigi sat sadly on a bench in the family mausoleum. Generations of the Mario family laid entombed here, resting. Despite what some thought, Luigi had never resented the family name. He'd felt worse for Mario than himself. Mario Mario was just a poor name. It had made sense once. Luigi was the first case of a second child born that the family records showed. Up until then it had always been one child, Mario, son of Mario. He shook his head and sighed. He always did this when he was sad. He let his mind wander, focus on the trivial and nonsensical rather than what was in front of him and hurting.

Mario, his brother, his friend, lay in the center tomb of the mausoleum, the greatest of the long Mario family. And the youngest to die, killed in battle by Admiral Kizaru while Mario had been focused on fighting Admiral Akoji. Luigi sighed once more. Such a pointless battle too. The Mushroom Kingdom and its closest allies, Sarasaland and the Kong Country, had always been independent of the World Government. Allies yes, but separate. So when members of the World Government's CP7 team had been found within their capital, Queen Peach had ordered that they be detained. They hadn't even been thrown in the dungeon, simply locked away in a secluded wing of the castle. The Queen wasn't so naïve that she thought that the World Government wouldn't spy on them, but she wasn't about to let spying go unpunished when she caught them at it. The World Government had responded with violence, though Akoji had at least seemed uneasy and unhappy with the situation, though he hadn't held back in battle with Mario. Sengoku had arrived days later to apologize for the escalation of events and had paid for reparations with Marine funds.

But at the end of the day, Mario was still dead. And Luigi was the last of his family, their parents having died of old age years ago. Would the family surname have to be changed to Luigi now? Luigi didn't want that. It felt disrespectful. He shook his head and put his head in his hands. He was doing it again.

"Excuse me young fellow." A kind voice said from behind him. Luigi looked up and turned to see Toadsworth standing there, waiting for him. "The Queen would like to speak to you." Luigi nodded and stood up. Getting away from his thoughts might be good for him.

 **Fifteen Minutes Later-Toadstool Castle**

Luigi followed Toadsworth into the castle library. Peach looked up from a thick text and smiled softly. "Luigi." She said, standing. Luigi took his hat off in respect, holding it in front of him with both hands.

"You don't need to stand for me your majesty."

"Nonsense. I owe you and your brother a great debt." The queen said, shaking her head with a slightly larger smile than before. "Which is one of the reasons why I wanted to show you this." She led Luigi up the stairs to the text she'd been reading, a history of the Mushroom Kingdom. Luigi put his hat back on and leaned down to read. After a minute, he stared up at Peach in shock.

"Is…is this real?" He asked, hardly daring to dream that it was. She nodded eagerly.

"I believe that it is. I read my father's journals recently, and it corroborates this story. Fifty-one years ago my father gifted his friend Gold Roger with the great 1-Up Mushroom. Toadsworth and I have searched all through the newspapers and histories of the time, and nowhere do they say anything that would imply that he ever used it." Luigi stared at the text almost reverentially. The 1-Up Mushroom was a legendary artifact, a magical mushroom said to be capable of bringing the dead back to life. Which meant…

"But if Gold Roger never used it…"

"Then it's probably with the One Piece!" Peach finished excitedly. "And if it is…"

"We can bring my brother back!" Luigi cried, hugging Peach. The queen grinned widely.

"Exactly. E. Gadd's been working on a few things that could make it so that you could go looking for it, if you wanted." Luigi stepped back and grinned up at her.

"What do you think?"

 **Five minutes later- E. Gadd's laboratory**

Professor E. Gadd's laboratory was located underneath the castle, in a secluded inlet that opened onto the ocean…when E. Gadd opened the doors that is. Luigi blinked as he stared at the small harbor and the green, red, and white caravel waiting for them. "Beautiful isn't she?" Peach said with a smile. "Mario had it commissioned from the Professor so that he could visit Sarasaland or the Kongs whenever he wanted. That was his official reason at least. Personally, I think he just wanted an easier way to challenge Bowser whenever he wanted." She said this last with a chuckle that Luigi copied.

"Given that he had me make it fire proof and able to practically sail itself, I'd say that that was most definitely his motive." E. Gadd said as he walked up to them.

"What's she named?" Luigi asked, unable to take his eyes off of the ship.

"Mario insisted that she be named the Yoshi. He even had me paint it to resemble the main one that helped you two." Luigi's eyes widened. That's why the color scheme seemed so familiar. "He also asked me to make these for you." The professor continued, holding out a pair of flame gloves. Luigi stared at them silently for a long moment.

"I'm fine with the ones I have now." He finally said, not meeting anybody's eyes. They were simple in appearance, just plain white gloves, but they were signature weapons of the Mario family, and had been for generations. The gloves could make balls of fire, which the wearer could direct and manipulate, though not the flames caused by said balls. His were old, and had seen many battles, but they were the ones he'd always worn when adventuring with his brother.

"Mario had me make these for you." E. Gadd repeated, holding out the gloves insistently. Luigi looked at him, then shook his head and removed the gloves, pocketing them and taking the new ones.

"You won't be able to talk me into everything using that line." He said as he put them on, prompting small smiles from his two friends.

"Perhaps not, but if it'll help you make smart choices I won't stop using it." E. Gadd said cheekily. "Try them out." Luigi raised an eyebrow, but held out his left hand, palm up, and activated the new glove. Instantly a ball of _green_ fire appeared in his hand. Luigi stared at it in surprise. "Mario said he got too much credit for your actions." The professor said softly. "He wanted to make sure everybody would always know when it was you charging to the rescue." Luigi swallowed a lump in his throat and extinguished the flame. The professor quickly wiped his eyes and got back to business. "These flames are special, in that they'll shoot out in straight lines rather than bouncing like the normal ones used to. However, they are slower, so you'll have to adjust. There's a special training room in the Yoshi down in the brig so that you can practice with them without having to worry about setting your whole ship on fire." Luigi nodded. Practice was important.

"She's fully stocked and ready to go." E. Gadd continued. "With enough food and pure fresh water to get you all the way to the Grand Line. And yes, there are a literal metric tons of bananas." Luigi blinked at this last.

"…Why would I need that many bananas?" He asked. E. Gadd smirked.

"I wasn't talking to you." He said, nodding at someone behind Luigi. Luigi turned around to see Donkey Kong walking towards them, a rucksack over his shoulder with the grip of his coconut gun protruding from the opening.

"What, you didn't think I'd let you go on a quest to bring back Mario without you, did you?" The large gorilla asked with a grin. "He might not have been my brother, but he was my friend." Luigi looked at him, realized that there would be no dissuading him (not that he wanted too. DK was a stubborn pain at times, but he was a friend) and nodded.

"Thank you." He said sincerely. There was a moment's pause.

"There's also plenty of flower boxes." E. Gadd added. That baffled both DK and Luigi. "If I was younger I'd even say too many."

"Why would…" Luigi started to ask before hearing running and the swishing of fabric. "Oh." DK looked at him in confusion, but Luigi just shook his head in fond exasperation.

"I'm coming too!" Daisy yelled, running up with a suitcase in each hand. The princess of Sarasaland was one of Luigi's best friends, and if he'd known he was about to leave he would have expected her to come. Technically Daisy was in the Mushroom Kingdom on a diplomatic 'practice mission', but Luigi had not noticed her doing anything related to diplomacy once. Ever. Mostly she just worked in the gardens, played games with the Toads, and sparred with him and Mario (before the attack obviously). DK raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. After watching her create a crater during a soccer match by merely punching the metal ball, the king of the jungle had gained a certain respect for the flower princess.

"Of course you are." Luigi said with a smile. Daisy just stuck her tongue out at him in response, like the mature diplomat she was.

"So, that's the Yoshi then?" Daisy asked, looking at the ship appreciatively.

"Cozy." DK said with a smile. E. Gadd bristled.

"You try making an automated ship bigger than a caravel young fellow!" He said indignantly, whacking DK on the knee.

"I was just messing around." DK said defensively, taking a step back. That whack hadn't remotely hurt, but it was the principle of the thing.

"When do we leave?" Daisy asked, looking at Luigi. He didn't even hesitate.

"Immediately."


	2. Chapter 2

"Huh, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." DK said, coming out from below decks. Daisy looked up from where she was watering some of her flower beds.

"What wasn't?"

"My bedroom." DK replied, walking over to a barrel and plucking a banana out of it. "On Kong Island we don't have ships smaller than a frigate, so I wasn't sure how this would work out, but that wasn't too bad. Plenty tall, and plenty wide."

"I'm sure E. Gadd would be glad to hear that." Luigi said as he walked up. DK snorted.

"He'd just whack me for daring to think that it might not be perfect." The large gorilla snorted, peeling the banana with surprising dexterity. Luigi paused, then nodded.

"True." Then he looked at Daisy and raised an eyebrow. "Daisy? Why are you still wearing a dress?" Daisy looked down at her dress with a frown.

"What's wrong with my dress?" She demanded.

"Nothing really. It's just odd that you'd be wearing a dress on this voyage." Luigi said, holding up his hands placatingly. Daisy's frown deepened.

"My dad had the servants go through my luggage right before we left for the Mushroom Kingdom and remove all the outerwear that wasn't a dress. He thought that spending three years with Queen Peach and her royal court would smooth out my 'unfeminine' edges." DK and Luigi snorted in unison at that, and Daisy gave a self-depreciative shrug.

"Well, we can get you some more practical clothing when we stop at Sarasaland." Luigi said. Daisy blinked.

"Uh…we might not want to do that." She said slowly. Luigi frowned at her.

"Why not?"

"Well, we're kind of pirates now. And given the World Government's policy of absolute justice, I don't think they'll like it if my dad helps us, or even just doesn't attack us when we make port."

"We're not pirates!" Luigi argued, and DK nodded. Daisy gave them a dry look.

"What's our goal?"

"To find the treasure hoard of Gold Roger to bring back my brother after he was killed by a Marine Admiral…crap we're pirates." Luigi said as he realized what his quest would look like.

"We can stop at Kong Island to top off our supplies." DK offered. "Trust me, the World Government isn't going to upset my gramps over something as small as letting us get supplies, especially when we haven't done anything yet." Luigi nodded his thanks, and the gorilla looked at Daisy. "We probably won't have any clothes your size though." Daisy shrugged unconcernedly.

"I'll make do." She assured them. "How long until we get to Kong Island?" DK shrugged.

"How would I know?" Daisy's eye twitched as Luigi silently walked over to the table next to the helm wheel.

"How…you live there! You make the trip from Kong Island to the Mushroom Kingdom all the time!" DK shrugged.

"All I need to know is that I head up and eventually I'm at the Mushroom Kingdom." He said without concern. "Why bother learning more?" Luigi chuckled as Daisy's eye twitched even more.

"I'm not an expert navigator or anything, but I'd say we'll arrive in two days or so." He announced, looking up from the maps they kept next to the wheel. Daisy sighed.

"Thank you Luigi." She said, heading down for the training room. DK looked at Luigi in confusion.

"What's got her so upset?" He asked. Luigi looked at him, then shook his head with a smile and headed downstairs. He thought he'd seen a tent bag in the cargo room that would probably be useful in protecting the map table.

One Day Later- West Blue

DK frowned from his position up in the crow's nest, looking through the telescope at the ship in the distance. He balanced on the mast and leaned back so that he was hanging upside down. "Hey guys? Does anybody know why there'd be a Marine ship out here?" Luigi frowned up at him.

"No." He said slowly. They were still in the middle of the rough triangle formed by the Mushroom Kingdom, Kong Island, and Sarasaland in the northernmost part of the West Blue. Unless there was extenuating circumstances, like a hurricane, damage to a ship that couldn't be repaired at sea, or chasing a Warlord level pirate, the Marines weren't supposed to enter these waters. Luigi grabbed his own telescope and peered through it in the direction DK had been looking. The Marine ship appeared to have noticed them and was turning towards the Yoshi. Luigi frowned again. The ship was very clearly not damaged, not even remotely, there wasn't any sort of storm brewing, and they were too far into the triangle to have not heard about a Warlord level pirate. So what were they doing? He reached over and grabbed the transmitter of the helm den den mushi and hit the button transferring him to the training room. "Daisy, can you come up here? We've got a Marine ship."

"Here? Alright, I'm coming up." She said, hanging up. Luigi paused, and then hit the button to connect him to the crow's nest.

"DK, come down here please." He asked. Something was giving him a bad feeling about this ship.

 **Five minutes later**

Luigi raised an eyebrow as the Marines roped on to the Yoshi and threw a board across without even bothering to ask permission. A man swaggered across it and raised an eyebrow at them. He looked them over one by one. Daisy got a leer, and Luigi was dismissed, but DK got a smirk. "You'd be the current Donkey Kong, protector of the so called Kong Island, no?" DK blinked and looked down at Luigi from where he was crouched on his knuckles.

"I'm confused, is he asking if I am the current Donkey Kong, or if I'm not?" The large gorilla asked, confused and scratching his head. Luigi looked at him, then decided not to prolong the confusion.

"He's asking if you are." Luigi said. Donkey Kong was simple, and not the brightest, but he was a good friend and had a good heart, usually, so Luigi wasn't about to mock him. DK frowned.

"Then why'd he include a no at the end of his question?"

"Don't worry about it, he's just stupid." Daisy said, glaring at the Marine officer, which Luigi took to mean she'd noticed his leering. The Marine officer glared right back at her, angry, perhaps feeling that he deserved more respect than they were giving him.

"What exactly do you want?" Luigi asked carefully. The officer pointed at DK.

"Him." Luigi and DK blinked, and DK opened his mouth, but Daisy beat him to it.

"I'm sure DK's very flattered, but he doesn't swing that way." She said flatly. Then she paused and looked at DK. "At least, I don't think he does. Hey DK, are you attracted to guys?"

"Not really no." DK said. "I mean, Funky is, but I'm not."

"Gotcha." Daisy nodded, and the Marine officer snapped.

"That's enough! I am Captain Wart, and I will not be treated this way!" There was a pause, and then Daisy and DK both snorted and turned away, trying (valiantly Luigi had to admit) to hide their laughter.

"What exactly do you want Captain?" Luigi asked, try to distract the man. "You're pretty far outside of World Government territory."

"I'm here for the Kongs." Wart growled. "Sarasaland and the Mushroom Kingdom may be legitimate governments, but Kong Island is just a bunch of stupid apes who think they own an island. I'm going to storm the place, depose their so called leaders, and eliminate this dumb triangle once and for all." There was a long moment of silence as the three processed this, and then they all broke out laughing, even Luigi.

"You're new, aren't you?" DK laughed.

"Take on Kong Island with one ship?" Daisy asked. "Seriously? You wouldn't get past the DK Crew, let alone Cranky!" Wart glared at them all.

"That's it! You're all dead!" He growled, shifting into a large bipedal toad wielding a large mace. Daisy blinked and cocked her head to the side.

"How?" She asked, unconcerned. DK looked at her.

"You've been to Kong Island before. I'm standing right here. Surely you know what Zoan Fruit are?" Daisy blinked, then laughed sheepishly.

"Oh yeah, I kind of forgot. I'm so used to you guys and the Kremling Krew that I forgot there's more than two branches of the Zoan Fruit." Luigi sighed and jumped forward as Wart leapt at them with his mace held aloft, punching the toad man in the stomach and sending him flying off the Yoshi onto his own ship. Not that the Marine could have hurt Daisy or DK seriously with an attack like that, but it was the principle of the thing, as their captain and the only sane one. Somewhat impressively, Wart almost immediately leapt up and charged back at them. Luigi sighed again.

"DK, you and I focus on the other Marines." He said, dodging a swipe from one of the two Marines who'd boarded the Yoshi with Wart. "Don't wreck their ship, but knock them out. We'll tow them out of the triangle, and hopefully they'll learn their lesson. If not, your family can take them down then. Daisy, you take care of Captain Wart." Daisy blinked as Wart closed in on them.

"DK, you sure you don't want him? He was threatening your home." DK snorted. Wart leapt into the air.

"Please, Tiny could take this guy down."

"Alright, fine. You guys go have fun." Daisy said, elbowing Wart in the stomach without looking and knocking him off the Yoshi again. "I'll just stay here and only fight one person."

"Look, DK and I are best at clearing out groups." Luigi explained as he threw two low powered fire balls across the deck and onto the Marines' ship. "And you're best at single enemies." With that he joined DK in jumping across to the other ship as Wart passed them in midair. Daisy sighed.

"Alright toad, come over here, let's get this over with quickly."

 **Two Hours later-Just outside the borders of Kong Island**

"…You guys realize we just attacked a Marine ship, right?" Daisy asked as they sailed away from Wart's ship and back into the triangle. Luigi sighed.

"Yes." He said, hanging his head down in frustration.

"Just checking. I'll get to work on a pirate flag." Daisy said, far too cheerful for the situation.


End file.
